- LSU Game Notes
- MSU Game Notes
- Head Coach Nick Saban Quotes
- Head Coach Jackie Sherrill Quotes
- LSU Player Quotes
- MSU Player Quotes
BATON ROUGE — LSU came back from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to send Mississippi State to overtime then scored on its third play of the extra period before stopping State in its chance to upset the 13th-ranked Bulldogs, 45-38, in front of 90,584 ecstatic fans in Tiger Stadium on Saturday.
LaBrandon Toefield capped off a 26-carry, 119-yard performance by scampering 13 yards over the left side to score the final touchdown in overtime, and the LSU defense stood tall without allowing a first down in overtime to seal the win.
Josh Booty threw for 246 yards on 24-of-38 passes including 10 to both Josh Reed and Jerel Myers. He threw two touchdowns and one interception.
LSU outgained Mississippi State, 466-454, and gained 220 yards rushing on the nation’s No. 1 rushing defense — 24.4 yds per game entering Saturday’s contest.
The Tigers converted 11-of-16 third downs, led by the Tigers’ offensive line. The line put forth its best effort of the season and allowed the Tigers to rush for the most yardage in an SEC game since Oct. 26, 1996, when LSU rolled up 246 against Mississippi State (LSU won 28-20).
REGULATION RECAP
After Mississippi State scored on the second play of the game with an 82-yard hookup from quarterback Wayne Madkin to Terrell Grindle , LSU dodged a bullet on the ensuing kickoff. Eric Edwards mishandled the skykick and the ball rolled into a cluster of players. LSU’s Ryan O’Neal recovered the ball to avoid a potential costly turnover.
Despite the shaky start, LSU maintained its composer. Inspired play by the LSU offense allowed the Tigers to strike right back at the Bulldogs.
After Josh Booty connected with Reggie Robinson on a 20-yard pass, and LaBrandon Toefield ground out some tough yards on the ground. LSU capped off a seven-play, 67-yard drive with a touchdown. Toefield was rewarded for his hard running with an 11-yard touchdown run. The score tied the game, 7-7, with 12:04 remaining in the first quarter.
LSU reached the endzone again courtesy of an outstanding touchdown pass from Booty to Jerel Myers. Booty rolled around the right side and found Myers open in the corner of the endzone for a 7-yard touchdown pass.
Myers tight-roped the sideline keeping his feet in-bounds for the score. The score was the culmination of a 13-play, 72-yard drive that included continued hard running by Toefield and a number of precise pass completions by Booty. The touchdown reception was the first of the season for Myers.
Mississippi State responded with a 46-yard touchdown drive to even the score at 14-14. Dontae Walker scored on an 11-yard scamper with 13:26 remaining in the first half.
Fred Booker intercepted a Madkin pass late in the second quarter to halt a Bulldog drive. It was Booker’s first interception of the season, and the third in his career.
LSU will receive the ball to start the second half.
LSU gave the Bulldogs a gift to start the second half when Booty and Toefield botched the exchange on a draw and Mississippi State’s Rob Knight recovered the fumble and returned it to the LSU 21-yard line. Four plays later Madkin ran around left end on a quarterback draw and scored extending Mississippi State’s lead to 24-14 with 12:23 remaining in the third quarter.
LSU’s offense continued to answer the call under pressure. LSU with the combination of precision passing by Booty and hard running by Toefield drove the ball 59 yards to set up a 36-yard field goal by Corbello. The field cut the Bulldog lead to 24-17 with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter.
Dicenzo Miller scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to open up the game at 31-17 with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter. The score was set up by a 39-yard pass completion over the middle to Justin Jenkins earlier in the drive.
LSU kept fighting and refused to give up. The Tigers drove the ball 62 yards down the field. LSU is the first team this season to move the ball with such consistency against the Bulldogs. Dominack Davis capped off a 51-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown run in which he pushed the pile into the endzone. LSU cut the lead to 31-24 with 13:56 remaining in the game.
The LSU defense came up with a big stop sending the Bulldog offense back to the bench following a three-and-out series. The stop gave LSU excellent field position at their own 49 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage Davis found an opening on the outside and sprinted downfield for 27 yards. Later in the drive Booty found Reed open on the sidelines and he broke a tackle and ran in for the tying score. LSU battled back from a 14 point deficit to even the score at 31-31 with 11:05 remaining in the game.
The LSU offensive line made a statement in the fourth quarter. The Tigers had success running the ball all game long. The Tigers ran the ball at a helpless Bulldog defense that looked more like pups on this night in Tiger Stadium. LSU drove the ball 76 yards, most of which came via the running game and scored the go ahead touchdown. Davis ran into the endzone on a four-yard touchdown run. LSU took the lead at 38-31 with 5:24 remaining in the game.
Mississippi State battled back as well. With their backs against the wall the Bulldogs drove the ball down the field 80 yards on the Tigers. A 28-yard pass play on third down kept the drive alive. Three plays later Madkin Hit Justin Griffith for a five-yard touchdown pass. The game was tied 38-38 with 1:59 to play.
LSU GAME NOTES vs. MISSISSIPPI STATE (10/21/00) page 1 of 2
- Tonight’s game was the 94th meeting between the Tigers and the Bulldogs. The rivalry surpasses the LSU-Tulane rivalry of 93 games as the most in LSU football history. With the win, LSU leads the series 58-33-3.
- Tonight marked the fifth appearance for LSU on ESPN2. The Tigers are now 3-2 all-time in games on ESPN2 and 57-75-7 all-time in televised games. This was the fourth televised game this season for LSU. The others were at Auburn (ESPN), vs. Tennessee (ESPN), and at Florida (JP-Sports).
- Senior offensive lineman Louis Wiliams made his 29th straight start tonight, the longest active streak on the team. Senior cornerback Fred Booker made his 24th straight start. Sophomore split end Jerel Myers and junior safety Ryan Clark extended their respective streaks to 17, while sophomore linebacker Trev Faulk extended his streak to 15 straight games.
- Freshman Erin Damond made his first start as a Tiger at right cornerback. Damond becomes the 12th first-time starter of the season for LSU.
- MSU broke the LSU streak of holding the opposition without points on their opening drive at 12 straight games with an 82-yard touchdown strike on the second play of the game. The streak dated back to last year when Kentucky scored on its opening possession in a 31-5 victory over LSU in the sixth week of the season.
- Scott Westerfield’s 82-yard touchdown reception on the second play of the game was the longest touchdown pass against the Tigers since Auburn’s Ronnie Daniels caught an 84-yard touchdown pass on Sept. 18, 1999.
- The 11-yard touchdown run by LaBrandon Toefield on the opening possession marked the fourth time this season the Tigers scored on their opening drive. The other scores came against Western Carolina (80-yard touchdown pass), Tennessee (47-yard field goal), and Kentucky (7-yard touchdown pass).
- LaBrandon Toefield’s touchdown run is the fourth rushing touchdown for the freshman this year, the most for a freshman since Rondell Mealey rushed for 10 TDs in 1996. His 26 carries this year is the most on the team this year and the most since Mealey rushed 26 times against the Bulldogs on Oct. 23, 1999. His 119-yard performance is the second time this year that the freshman has gone over 100 yards rushing.
- Running backs Domanick Davis LaBrandon Toefield’s two TD rushes apiece is the most for a Tiger this year and the most since Rondell Mealey ran for two TD’s in a 52-0 win against North Texas on Sept. 11, 1999.
- Reggie Robinson extended his streak to 24 consecutive games with a reception with a 10-yard catch in the first quarter. Robinson’s 24-game streak is the longest active streak on the team. Josh Reed’s 2-yard reception in the first quarter marks his 11th straight game with a reception. Wide receiver Jerel Myers also extended his streak to 19 with a 7-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. Myers has now caught at least one pass in every game of his career.
- The 7-yard touchdown reception by Jerel Myers is his third of the season, the fifth receiving touchdown as a Tiger. The last TD reception for Myers came in the opening game against Western Carolina on Sept. 2, 2000.
- Reggie Robinson’s 10 receptions was a career best topping his previous mark of six catches against Florida on Oct. 9, 1999. The 10 catches by Josh Reed is a career best and the most since Jerel Myers had 13 receptions against Auburn on Sept. 18, 1999. Robinson’s 102 yards and Reed’s 113 yards receiving marks the second time this season that LSU had two receivers go over 100 yards receiving.
- Josh Booty’s 7-yard pass to Josh Reed in the second quarter moved the junior past Chad Loup to No. 7 on the LSU career passing yards list. His 13-yard pass to Josh Reed in the third quarter was enough to move him past Bert Jones and into sixth place all-time. Booty currently has 3,321 career passing yards and is just the eighth quarterback in LSU history to throw for more than 3,000 yards.
- Quarterback Josh Booty now has two TD passes in every game started this season with the exception of the Sept. 23 game against UAB.
- Senior cornerback Fred Booker’s second quarter interception was the first this season and the first since a 29-21 win over San Jose State on Sept. 4, 1999. This is the first interception for Booker in an SEC game and the third of his career. The other came in a 53-20 win over Idaho on Sept. 26, 1998.
- Dontae Walker’s 14-yard touchdown run is just the fourth rushing touchdown allowed by the Tiger defense this season. It is also the first rushing touchdown LSU has allowed prior to the fourth quarter since a 10-yard run in the second quarter of a 20-7 loss to Houston on Nov. 13, 1999.
- The three MSU rushing touchdowns is the most given up by an LSU defense since surrendering four against the Ole Miss Rebels on Oct. 30, 1999.
- The win is the first time an LSU team has come back to win after trailing to start the fourth quarter. The last time was against Houston on Sept. 7, 1996. The Tigers trailed 34-14 going into the fourth before scoring three fourth quarter TD’s en route to a 35-34 win. The last come-from-behind victory in an SEC game was on Oct. 30, 1993. The Tigers trailed 14-13 going into the fourth before pulling out a 19-17 win. This the first time in recorded history (since 1962) LSU won an SEC game after being two touchdowns behind at the start of the fourth quarter.
- LSU becomes just the second SEC team to play more than two overtime games in a season. Ole Miss was the first in 1998 with overtime games against LSU and SMU.
- Tonight’s three fourth quarter touchdowns is the most in an SEC game since scoring three times in a 37-31 loss to Ole Miss on Oct. 31,1998.
- The combined 83 points is the most points in the rivalry since scoring 86 points in 1980 (MSU 55, LSU 31). It is also the most points in the series in Tiger Stadium history.
- Tonight’s game captains were Ryan Clark, Kareem Mitchell, Louis Williams, Brandon Winey.
- Tonight’s attendance of 90,584 marked the second largest Tiger Stadium crowd in LSU history. The largest was against the Tennessee Volunteers on Sept. 30, 2000.
MISSISSIPPI STATE POSTGAME NOTES @ LSU (10/21/00)
- Tonight’s game marked the second overtime contest MSU has played in its history The other was a 16-13 loss at home to Arkansas in 1996.
The Bulldogs are now 25-10 in televised games dating back to 1996… State is now 3-6 in ESPN2-affiliated contests. MSU is now 33-7 (.825) under Jackie Sherrill when scoring 25 or more points, 17-2 (.895) since 1996. State is now 50-10-2 (.823) under Sherrill when leading at halftime, including a 33-6 (.846) mark since 1994. Since 1994, MSU is now 27-3 (.900) when recording more takeaways than its opponent…The Bulldogs are 7-17 (.292) during the same span when recording fewer takeaways (2-1 today). MSU is now 51-14-1 (.780) under Sherrill when outrushing the opponent, and is 12-32-1 (.278) when not. Over the last three seasons (1997-00, 42 games), MSU is now 22-4 (.846) when rushing for 100-plus yards and 7-9 (.438) when they do not. The 45 points State allowed to LSU are the most MSU has allowed since 1997 when they yielded 47 at Georgia. LSU’s 220 yards rushing in the game are the most State has allowed in a contest since Ricky Williams and Texas ran for 238 in the 1999 Cotton Bowl The mark is the highest MSU has yielded in a regular-season game since LSU posted 236 two years ago in Baton Rouge. Mississippi State has now notched a pickoff in 16 of its last 18 games as well as in 28 of the Bulldogs’ last 32 contests. With his 118 yards rushing tonight, Dicenzo Miller eclipsed the 100-yard mark in rushing for the third-straight game He also surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for his career tonight, now with 1,062 career rushing yards. Scott Westerfield has now made eight-of-nine field goals this season and has now made good on 12 of his last 13 field goal attempts (includes one make in the 1999 Peach Bowl). Wayne Madkin’s 82-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Grindle in the first quarter was the fourth-longest pass play in MSU history and the longest pass of Madkin’s career…It was also Grindle’s first career touchdown. Madkin’s two touchdown passes in the game moved him into sole possession of third place on MSU’s career TD passes list with 26, surpassing Tony Shell (25, 1988-90). Madkin’s 215 yards passing in the game moved him into fourth place on MSU’s career passing yardage list, now with 4,450 career yards, surpassing Shell (4,292, 1988-90) It also marked the seventh 200-yard game of his career, tying Shell for the fourth-most in MSU lore. Madkin’s 12 pass completions in the game moved him into fifth place on MSU’s career completions list, now with 312, surpassing John Bond (307, 1980-83). Fred Smoot’s second-quarter interception was the ninth of his two-year MSU career (includes one in 1999 Peach Bowl) and his third of the 2000 season. Rob Knight’s fumble recovery in the third quarter was his second of 2000 and of his career.
“We were able to control the ball and ran the football on them, passed it and did a good job. Josh (Booty) did a good job and the receivers made some outstanding catches. The runners did a good job, and the offensive line did a fantastic job blocking some pretty god football players.”
“I think some of the long drives we had early in the game tired those guys out, and I think that helped us.”
“They played very well on offense and scored a lot of points. We didn’t play as well as we needed to on defense, but the crowd certainly helped us out there in the third and fourth quarter when we got a couple of stops to where we could get back in the game.”
“Its unfortunate that we couldn’t get the win in regulation when it was 38-31, but I was proud of the way the players kept coming back and kept competing. They were really relentless. That’s probably why we won the game.”
“It was an exciting football game. We are always happy be on ESPN and I think they are always going to be happy to have us the way play games for them.”
Josh Booty – 14 – QB
“Mississippi State got a little tired and we were running over them. We were doing some good things with the run game, we had over 200 yards rushing. I was just so proud of the way our line played.”
“Our backs ran hard, and that was really the key to the ball game. We ran the ball which set-up the pass. We had a good game plan as far as what we were going to do with the blocking scheme. “
Domanick Davis – 31 – RB
“We were just running the ball down their throats. We have been doing it for the past two or three years. It was the toughest defense we played against all year long. The only way we could beat them is just giving it to our trio (Domanick Davis, LaBrandon Toefield, Devery Henderson).”
“The offensive line did a wonderful job. I give all the credit to them. You should be interviewing the offensive linemen.”
Rodney Reed – 60 – OL
“Our coaches did a great job during the week at practice. They prepared us for the different looks that State throws up. The defensive coordinator does a great job over there. We put a lot of extra credit this week. We really came together.”
“It was a great week of practice. The best since I’ve been here. There wasn’t any doubt that we would win this game.”
LaBrandon Toefield – 22 – RB
“They (MISS ST.) do all that blitzing and stuff, but it is not real hard to pick up. Once you get it, you could run right at them and we could run the ball on them.”
(on the last touchdown) “”It was just a regular toss play that we had been running the whole night. They went inside on it and we bounced it outside. Everything went crazy from there.
“We knew we could run the ball on them. We ran the ball on Tennessee and they’re supposed to have a good defense. We saw teams on film that heard about Miss. St.’s defense and they’re scared to go at them. We thought that we’d try our luck and go right at them.”
Fred Booker – 1- DB
(overtime) “We wanted to go and beat them first. We were ready to go back on the field. We gave them the last touchdown that they scored. We had two busted coverages and we just wanted to go out there and make a play.”
MISSISSIPPI STATE PLAYER QUOTES
Michael Fair, OL
“It was hard to hear tonight, especially in overtime or anytime that we got inside of the 20. I think we did a great job because we got every play off on time. There were a few times that we had the ball on our side of the field and we went three and out twice. It could have been a different ballgame. There offense had the game of their season, and their defense played great.”
Fred Smoot, CB
“This was the worst tackling game for us as well as the worst defensive game since Ive been here. As a team, we just didn’t come to play today. This was worse than South Carolina. We gave up 45 points which is unheard of where we are from. We didn’t lay the big licks tonight. We didn’t make the plays on defense that we usually make. We didn’t stop the third and two’s or the second and tens. It didn’t surprise me at all how they played tonight. This is the SEC and I watch film of them and they have a high powered offense. I knew that he (Reggie Robinson) was a good player. I played against him last season, but I didn’t think that he would catch as many passes as he did. Their offense is as good as Florida’s, but LSU has better running backs, and they run the ball better.”
MISSISSIPPI STATE HEAD COACH JACKIE SHERRILL
“I think that everybody saw a great football game today. There were two teams who were constantly fighting with each other. There wasn’t much defense out there for a while, but we still had two good teams playing tonight.”
“I have to give them credit because they came back in the game and they won it in overtime. When we went up 31-17, I thought that we could hold on at that time and have a chance to win the game.”
“Their offensive line did a great job of opening holes for their running game and they were prepared and did a great job tonight. We did not play very well defensively and we didn’t play very well in the secondary.”
“Instead of knocking the wide receivers out of bounds, we were letting them catch the ball and make plays. We have to give Booty a great deal of credit because he did a great job tonight. They got him in the right position and the players executed.”
“When you have a team that has a chance and the momentum to come back into a ballgame, then they had a chance to get stronger. There is no question that in this league, when you are at home and the way that things go, it helps you.”